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Bullying Prompts Half a Dozen Lawsuits Against One School District

Six lawsuits have been filed against the Yucaipa-Calimesa School District alleging that short staff and ignored pleas from parents have created a culture ripe for student-on-student harassment.

One of the plaintiffs, 15-year-old Savanna Blakkan, spoke to NBC News. A physical attack on Blakkan by another student was recently captured on video. Blakkan says she has left Yucaipa High School and suffers from nightmares because of the event.

Blakkan’s attack occurred about a year and a half after a 13-year-old student at Mesa View Middle School killed herself following months of alleged bullying. Both cases are being handled by attorney Brian Claypool.

The Yucaipa-Calimesa School District issued this statement in response to the attack against Blakkan:

“We take incidents of this nature extremely seriously, we responded according to our policies for student discipline, and have been working in cooperation with law enforcement."